Wall washing bailer



1936. w, J. DUNLAP WALL WASHING BAIL-ER Filed Feb. 25, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Thisinvention relates to a wall washing bailer and to devices that may beemployed in washing out perforated casing in wells.

Heretofore, bailers have been provided wherein the bailer was dividedinto two chambers, one constituting a loading chamber and the otherconstituting a reduced pressure chamber. On the landing of the bailer ina well the chamber of reduced pressure was opened to cause an inflowinto the loading chamber. Such bailers,

while having certain advantages, are disadvantageous in that noprovision is made for forming a clearance between the debris and thesides of the bailer. In other words, with the above mentioned type ofbailer, as well as in the conventional type of bailer, the bailer landsin the debris in the bottom of the well and enters it. The debris thatis caused to enter the barrel of the bailer is only that debris which isahead of or beneath the bailer. That debris which is opposite the sidesof the bailer remains in close contact therewith, and should there beany material settling or caving such types of bailers may become stuckin the well.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved bailer andperforated casing washer wherein the bailer carries with it a supply offluid under high pressure, which fluid is released on the landing of thebailer and causes a washing of the walls of the well as well as aninflow of debris into the loading chamber. In this way, by releasingfluid pressure in the well, the discharged fluid will enlarge the cavityin the debris which is penetrated and formed by the bailer so that thereis no danger of. the bailer sticking or becoming frozen in the well.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be mademanifest in the following detailed description, and specifically pointedout in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical, diametrical section through the upper portion ofthe improved bailer.

Fig. 2 is a diametrical, vertical section through the lower portion ofthe improved bailer.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially upon the line 33 uponFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken substantially upon the line 4--4upon Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a modified form ofconstruction which may be very advantageously used in washing perforatedcasing in a well.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein similar referencecharacters designate similar parts throughout, and particularly Figs. 1to 4, the improved bailer comprises a barrel I0, which may be made up ofsuitable pipe sections. At the bottom of the barrel there is a series ofinternal threads ll into which is screwed a hollow nipple 12. Thisnipple, in turn, is connected by means of threads to an aperturedfitting l3 having an aperture I4 therein and around which thereismovable an apertured ring l5 having an aperture i6. On rotating thering i5 so as to place apertures l4 and I6 in registration, an outlet isprovided to facilitate emptying the bar rel. On lowering the bailer intothe well the apertures are out of registration so as to close thebarrel. Fitting I3 is, in turn, threadedly connected to a valve seatforming member H on which is pivotally mounted an inwardly openingentrapping valve i8. Within the barrel IO and on top of nipple l2 thereis disposed a tubular member l9, which may have a rubber ring at itsbottom adapted to seat on top of the nipple. This tubular member, inturn, carries a suitable seat 2| which may be also of rubber, and aninwardly opening flap valve 22. The tubular member l9 loosely fitswithin the barrel and is capable of bodily moving upwardly in thebarrel.

The top section of pipe or tubing forming barrel I0 is preferablyprovided with a series of apertures 23 and this section, in turn, isconnected by means of threads to an externally threaded head 24 whichhas mounted thereon a cap 25. A stem 26, having a threaded pin 21,extends downwardly through the top of cap 25 and is threaded into nut28. This stem preferably has a squared or non-circular shank, as clearlyshown in Fig. 3. A second stem 29 has its upper end also threaded intonut 28 and slidably extends through a stuffing box 30 through head 24.The second stem constitutes a piston or valve rod and is connected bymeans of wrist pin 3| to a piston or valve 32. The piston or valve 32 ishollow and has passages 33 extending longitudinally therethrough, and isprovided with ring grooves for two sets of piston rings 34 and 35 whichare located above and below the apertures 23, respectively, in theposition shown which is that in which the device is lowered into a well.

The head has two apertures therein, one being indicated at 36, which isnormally closed by a plug 31. This aperture merely constitutes aclean-out opening. The opposite aperture 38 is closed by means of acheck valve 39. A shroud 40, which may be made up of sections of pipe ortubing, is threadedly connected to head 24 and extends downwardly aroundthe barrel ill in spaced relation thereto. This shroud preferably has adetachable lower section 4| which can be unscrewed and removed to exposering IS.

The operation and advantages of the improved bailer are as follows:

Before lowering the bailer into the well, the stem 26 preferably hasmounted thereon a set of jars and a sinker bar, neither of which areshown, and these, in turn, are connected to the 2 sand line. When thebailer is suspended by means of the sand line, nut 28 engages beneaththe top of cap 25 and in this position the piston or valve is sopositioned that its rings 34 and 35 are above and below, respectively,the apertures 23,

closing these apertures so that flow may not take place between theinterior of. the barrel and the space 42 immediately surrounding thebarrel within the shroud 40. A source of high fluid pressure is thenapplied to aperture 39 filling the interior of barrel ill with a fluidunder very high pressure, such as for example, a pressure of onethousand pounds per square inch., This causes valve 22 to seat veryfirmly and the member I! to seat very tightly on nipple I2. With thebailer thus loaded with fluid under pressure, the bailer is ready to belowered into the well. As the bailer approaches dbris in the bottom ofthe well there is usually fluid above the dbris so that space 42 maybecome filled with liquid. When the bailer lands on the dbris itpenetrates the dbris somewhat and the weight of the jars and the sinkerbar cause the piston or slide valve 32 to move downwardly within thebarrel. This causes the upper set of rings 34 to expose apertures 23 andthus release the pressure within the barrel which is intended to be inexcess of the head of liquid in the well. The release of pressure withinthe barrel permits the fluid originally maintained therein under highpressure to escape through apertures 23, forcing the column of liquid inspace 42 downwardly and outwardly, this fluid being discharged near thebottom of the bailer.-

This discharging fluid accomplishes two pur poses. It serves to enlargethe hole in the debris caused by the penetration of the bailer, forminga large clearance between the dbris and the outside surfaces of shroud40. Also, the discharging fluid is effective to induce or create anupward flow within the barrel, opening the entrapping valve Ill. Thesudden upward flow may cause tubular member l9 to rise within the barrelor tubular member l9, but under certain circumstances, it remainsstationary and its valve 22 merely opens. By forming a large clearancebetween shroud 40 and the dbris, there is no danger of the bailerbecoming struck and the well can be bailed out to substantially the fulldiameter of the drilled hole, as distinguished from bailing out the wellto the diameter of merely the bailer. When the bailer is withdrawn fromthe well, lower section 4| of shroud 40 is removed and ring l5 rotatedto align apertures l4 and I6 to release the entrapped pressure, afterwhich the bailer can be readily emptied.

In the construction as shown in Fig. 5, there is a modified form ofinvention, those parts which are counterparts of members shown in Fig. 2being given the same reference characters. In this type of constructionan alternative form of check valve may be used in place of valve 22consisting of, a cage 45 which may be mounted on top of her I 9 andcarrying a valve seat 46 for a stemmed poppet type valve 41. This typeof valve accomplishes substantially the same functions as previouslydescribed in connection with valve 22. The shroud which surrounds thebarrel is indicated at 48 and is perforated with perforations 49, and acollar 50 is threaded into the bottom of the shroud so as to closely fltabout fitting l3. The collar serves to confine the liquid that maycollect within space 42 so that upon the release of fluid pressurewithin the barrel the liquid is forced outwardly in a radial directionthrough perforations 48. This type of construction can thus beadvantageously employed to wash out the perforations in perforatedcasing.

From the above described construction it will be appreciated that animproved bailer is provided which makes provision for clearing the dbrisaway from the sides of the bailer as well as inducing an upflow therein.

Various changes may be made in thedetalls of construction withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A bailer comprising means providing a bailer barrel having aninwardly opening entrapping valve at its bottom, means for carrying asupply of fluid under pressure in the barrel until the barrel haslanded, means for releasing the fluid upon the landing of the barrel,and means for directing the released fluid so as to create an inflowinto the entrance of the barrel.

2. In combination with a bailer having a barrel provided with anentrance at its bottom, means for carrying a supply of fluid underpressure and releasing it upon the landing of the bailer so as to 2produce a downflow adjacent the sides of the barrel.

3. In combination with a bailer having a barrel provided with anentrance at its bottom, means for carrying a supply of fluid underpressure and releasing it upon the landing of the bailer so as toproduce a downflow adjacent the sides of the barrel near the bottomthereof.

4. In combination with a bailer having a barrel provided with anentrance at its bottom, means for carrying a supply of fluid underpressure and releasing it upon the landing of the bailer so as toproduce a downflow adjacent the sides of the barrel near the bottomthereof and an upflow into the entrance of the barrel.

5. A bailer comprising means providing a barrel having an entrance atits bottom and an inwardly opening entrapping valve adjacent theentrance, means for suspending the bailer, there being provision in thebarrel for carrying a fluid under pressure, and a releasing valveconnected to the suspending means and operable thereby to release thefluid through the walls of the barrel.

6. A bailer comprising means providing a barrel having an entrance atits bottom and an inwardly opening entrapping valve adjacent theentrance, means for suspending the bailer, there being provision in thebarrel for carrying a fluid under pressure, a releasing valve connectedto the suspending means and operable thereby to release the fluidthrough the walls of the barrel, and a shroud mounted upon the barreland extending downwardly thereover to a point adjacent the entrance ofthe barrel.

7. A device of the character described, comprising a barrel, means forsuspending the barrel, means for admitting and retaining a fluid underpressure in the barrel, a releasing valve operatively connected to thesuspending means for releasing the fluid in the barrel when the barrellands at the bottom of a well, and means surrounding the barrel fordirecting the discharge of the released fluid.

8. A device of the character described comprising a barrel, means forsuspending the barrel, means for admitting and" retaining a fluid underpressure in the barrel, means for releasing the fluid in the barrel, andmeans for causing the released fluid to undergo a reversal of flow.

WILLIAM J. DUNLAP.

